Kid Dark Against the Machine

Another short story from Roberts set in the world of “Cookie Cutter Superhero”, from the anthology Kaleidoscope. It’s a world where there’s a machine that makes people superheroes… for a time. Where the first story looked at what might happen when a girl with a physical disability got to the machine, this one looks at the aftermath for one person – what’s it like when you didn’t choose to be a superhero and then you have to go back to being ‘normal’?

I love this story, and I love this world. I love Griff, struggling to deal with the ordinary world and how to fit in to it after a period of fame. I love how Roberts imagines super villains. And I love the hints at what it’s like to have a sidekick thrust on you when you really don’t want one.